My Boy Builds Coffins
by Evie Grey
Summary: AU starting mid season 6 of BTVS. 3 newcomers change the game for Buffy and her friends. They have their own set of secrets and complications.
1. Prologue

Roger Duncan loosened his tie as he stepped out of his rented car. The California heat was stifling even though it was only early spring. Well, I guess when you arrive on a Hellmouth you should expect it to be warm.

"Why is is so bright here?" came an annoyed voice from the front seat of the car. His wife, Wendy Duncan poked her head out of the window with her long red hair tumbling down around her pale, cherubic face.

"It is called Sunnydale, Wendy. What did you expect?" came another woman's voice as she stepped out from the backseat of the car and onto the street beside her Roger. The man smirked at his half-sister. They had only re-united a few years ago. He'd been raised in England with their biological mother while his half-sister, Gemma, had been raised by her father Stateside. It was Roger's father that was bringing them to Sunnydale now. The father he had never met and quite honestly, was reluctant tot meet. Unfortunately he had no choice, and this was the man's last known whereabouts. Wendy stepped out of the car to put a comforting arm around her husband.

"I'm too nervous to even knock on the door." he said softly, pressing his lips to her hair. Gemma shrugged, unphased.

"I'm not." she said, bounding up to the front door and knocking. Wendy and Roger followed, both frowning disapprovingly. "What?" she shrugged with mock innocence. The door opened and a young, slim brunette answered with an annoyed yet curious expression on her face.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Ah, yes, indeed." Roger said, stepping forward. "We're looking for a Rupert Giles."

"Used to go by Ripper." Gemma piped up with a smile.

"Hush Gemma." Wendy hissed.

"What? Mom said he did!"

"Stop being a child." Wendy scolded.

"I'm 21, same as you."

"Uhm, hello?" the young brunette in the doorway.

"I apologize for the ladies." Roger said. "I'm Roger Duncan. This is my wife, Wendy and my sister Gemma. We're looking for Rupert Giles."

"Dawn? Who's at the door?" came a voice from further inside the house.

"Some people looking for Giles." the girl, Dawn, called back. A young, beautiful blonde came to the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Rupert Giles. Is he here?" Wendy asked, getting fed up with the lack of answers.

"No. He went back to England." she said with a note of bitterness in her voice. "Why would you be looking for him here?"

"Well his apartment was empty and he is your watcher. We just assumed he'd be here." Gemma said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You are Buffy Summers, right?"

"Who the hell are you people?" she asked.

"I'm a Watcher as well. Roger Duncan." Roger said, offering his hand, which was ignored by Buffy.

"If the council sent you as a replacement for Giles, you can tell them to just go to-"

"No! No, not at all. I have my own Slayer to worry about, thank you." Roger said, slightly offended. Buffy raised a brow.

"Faith? You're Faith's Watcher? I'm surprised you're still alive." she said, leaning in the doorway.

"Faith? Heavens no." Roger said with a smile. The idea of trying to be helpful to someone as psychotic as Faith Lehane was laughable.

"He's my Watcher." Gemma said with a small smile. "and my big brother. Double dose of annoying if you ask me."

"Gemma..." Roger said with a warning tone. Buffy stared.

"Is Faith-"

"Still alive." Wendy said with a reassuring smile. "But a couple of months ago you weren't."

"Thanks for the wake up call, Summers." Gemma said with a smile but her tone was sarcastic.

"Oh." Buffy said. "Oops."

"May we come in now?" Roger asked. Buffy stepped aside to let them in with a sigh. As if things couldn't get more complicated.


	2. Ch1 : Just Another Day

Wendy sat beside her husband on the couch while her sister-in-law, Gemma, stood by the fireplace. The slender redhead raised an eyebrow as the brazen brunette casually looked at pictures on the mantle. Gemma and Roger both took after their mother with pale skin, wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Though Gemma's were fierce and light, almost yellow they were so gold as where Roger's were a beautiful rich brown, like melted chocolate. God, chocolate sounded good right about now. Hot chocolate. With tons of itty bitty marshmallows.

"So, why were you looking for Giles?" Buffy asked. Roger looked at Wendy and she shifted in her seat. She still wasn't used to saying it aloud. It had been a secret for such a long time. Until Roger. She'd told him everything and never once did he call her crazy. He understood her, helped her, taught her more about herself, and what she saw.

"I have these...visions. I see things. Mostly demon-related things. They told me to come to Sunnydale and look for Mr. Giles." Wendy admitted. Roger put an arm around her and she smiled, putting a hand on his knee.

"Well he went back to England. Why didn't your visions tell you that?" Dawn asked tartly. Gemma glared at the girl.

"It's not like reading a book." she said with just the slightest bit of edge in her voice.

"Gemma's right. It's more like flashes. It sometimes takes a while to piece them together and figure out what they mean. Maybe we got here late?" she proposed, turning to Roger with an apologetic look on her face.

"It's not just about Rupert Giles, sweet. It was about California, the Hellmouth specifically-"

"But not exclusively. I still think LA could be involved." Gemma said hopefully. Buffy raised an eyebrow at her tone but turned back to Wendy.

"So, you had a vision that told you to come to the Hellmouth and look for Giles?" she asked. Wendy made a face.

"More like, go to the Hellmouth, fight like hell. It's like flashes of movie stills in my head. Usually the visions are small, a few frame each, but this one..." Wendy trailed off, still terrified by the whole thing.

"Wendy was like a zombie for 48 hours. She just sat and stared at the wall. Totally creepy." Gemma said. Wendy made a face at Gemma, who was her best friend as well as her sister-in-law but the girl was getting on her last nerve. She knew what it was. Gemma was completely terrified. She was the newest Slayer, practically a baby in the presence of Buffy who had already died twice to save the world. Gemma was a jerk when she was nervous, an unfortunate truth. The more nervous she was the bigger the bitch she became. Gemma flashed Wendy one of smiles. The cocky smirk she reserved only for those who had her complete loyalty and trust and just like that Wendy forgave the attitude and turned back to Buffy. The poor girl looked completely confused by the sudden invasion.

"So, you guys just came to help?" Buffy asked, her expression skeptical.

"Yes. In a nutshell." Roger said with a smile.

"Look, Buffy. It may not seem like it now, but I have a feeling that you're really going to need our help soon." Wendy said, sincerity ringing in every word. Buffy let out a long sigh.

"Never a dull day in Sunnydale." She said, sinking into a chair. Dawn stood in the doorway and they all sat in an uncomfortable silence for a moment until they heard footsteps on the stairs and everyone turned. A young, thin woman with bright red hair a shade or two brighter than Wendy's descended the stairs.

"Oh. Hi." she said, confused. "What's going on?"

"Psychic, Slayer, Watcher." Buffy explained, pointing to Wendy, Gemma and Roger respectively. "Vision told them to come to Sunnydale and help us fight the good fight." she finished.

"Oh, well that's...helpful." she said with a polite smile. "I'm Willow, by the way."

"Roger Duncan. My wife, Wendy and my sister, Gemma." Roger said, taking over introductions.

"So, where are you guys staying?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, we rented an apartment. Dropped our things off the this morning then set out to see you." Wendy explained. She jumped, as if she had gotten a chill and stared ahead as images flashed across her mind's eye.

A house collapsed.

A rat.

Bleached hair.

A diamond.

Ice.

Wendy gasped as if surfacing from water as Roger held her close, rubbing her back and rocking her gently.

"Got lost for a minute there, love." he whispered into her ear.

"Was that a psychic thingy?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah." Wendy said, the images already becoming blurry and dreamlike in her mind. "Sorry, I can't really get a grasp on them. Diamonds. Ice. I'm sorry. Sometimes they just slip away before I can really get a chance to process them."

"It's fine, Wendy." Roger said. "Sun will be going down soon." he said, glancing out the window. "Perhaps the both of you could patrol tonight?"

Gemma stiffened. "I don't need a babysitter, Rog."

"Gem, this is Buffy's town. She could show you the hotspots." Roger said placidly.

"Oh, the hotspots? That's easy. It's right around everywhere." Buffy said sarcastically. "Still, I could help you get used to the layout, just until you know the area better." she said, turning to Gemma. Gemma had to fight every impulse to squeal. Buffy, the legend, was going to show her around the Hellmouth.

"Fine. I guess that's a better idea than wandering around blind all night." Gemma said with a small smile. Buffy nodded.

"Alright, well I'll swing by after dark to grab you for patrols." Buffy said. Roger smiled and stood, straightening his suit. Buffy raised an eyebrow at the tweed suit.

"Is that the Watcher uniform or something?" she asked.

"Oh do you like it?" he asked with a smile. "I have another I'm wearing to my first day of work tomorrow. I'm the new librarian at UC Sunnydale." he said proudly. Wendy smiled and took his hand.

"Wow. It's like Giles 2.0." Willow said with a smile. Buffy smiled and nodded. Only Gemma and Wendy noticed the tension now added to Roger's smile.

"Yes, well, I suppose we'll see you all later." he said. The was a flurry of brief goodbyes before the new trio walked out. Buffy turned to Willow and Dawn for their views.

"They seemed nice." Willow offered.

"Yeah." Buffy agreed slowly. "I'm just not sure if we should trust them."

"I don't like that Slayer." Dawn said. "I mean, look at the other Slayer we already have. Faith. What if this Gemma girl is worse."

"Well, she has a Watcher still, and she seemed...respectful, at least." Buffy said, searching for a neutral adjective. "I don't know. We'll have to just wait and see. I'll mention Roger's name next time I talk to Giles."

Buffy glanced out the window as the car drove off. Suddenly help just appears on her doorstep literally and she's supposed to trust that it's real. Just another day on the Hellmouth.


	3. Ch2 : Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking

Gemma brushed her hair one last time before pulling it over her shoulder to braid it. Not that it mattered, her hair always came undone. It was in that awkward stage of long where it's not enough to do anything productive with it but long enough to be a total hassle. The combat boots that had belonged to her mother along with the matching black motorcycle jacket were the staples in her slaying gear. That and a stake. And pants, obviously. Just jeans and a red v-neck sweater. Nothing fancy. After all, it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone. Gemma frowned into the mirror and threw on some mascara. Nothing wrong with wanting to look your best. 

_"You always look beautiful, darling. Even more so when there's blood on your face." _

"Shut up!" Gemma hissed at her memories. Johnny was dead, and he was never coming back. That didn't stop her from double checking to make sure the windows in her bedroom were secure. She wasn't like Faith, all twisted and psychotic, but she wasn't all calm and collected like Buffy. She was the in between Slayer. She walked downstairs to find Roger and Wendy giggling as they unpacked and she bit her lip, feeling guilty, like she was invading their space. It was their home, their photos and statues and things they were unpacking. It was bad enough she'd taken over their couch back in England, now she had her own room in what was supposed to be a cute two bedroom for a growing family.

She and Roger had spent summers together since Gemma was two and Rog was six. It wasn't as if they hadn't known about each other, they just hadn't been around each other much. Then a few weeks ago he'd shown up in the alley she had been standing in. Roger took in the sight of his half-sister, covered in blood with a man dead at her feet and instead of abandoning her, he'd disposed of the body and took over the duties of Watcher. She learned later that Wendy had seen her in trouble and sent her husband to help. She would never be able to thank the two of them.

"Oh, Gemma, there you are." Wendy said, smiling. "I made some pasta."

"I don't like to eat before killing things. I'll just whip something up when I get home." Gemma said, leaving the room to stand by the front door. When she heard knocking she whipped it open fast in her excitement, leaving Buffy with her hand poised in the air mid-knock.

"You seem eager." she said. She was wearing a black turtleneck and had her hair in two braids on either side of her head.

"Haven't slayed in a while." Gemma admitted. "Lack of Vamp dust gets me a little wound up."

"Totally understand that." Buffy said. "Wanna go?"

"Yeah. Wendy, Rog, I'll be back later." Gemma called before walking out the door.

Gemma and Buffy walked side by side through Sunnydale. They were roughly the same height. Gemma was maybe a hair shorter. Her height always annoyed her. She felt tall usually, and then suddenly she stood beside someone and she looked small, kind of weak. It helped in a way. People, or rather, things usually underestimated her.

"So, you and your brother weren't raised together, I guess?" Buffy asked.

"No. Our mother, Naomi, she had a fling with Rog's father, it didn't last. Roger's never even met his birth father. Then she had a fling with my dad a few years later. Mom wasn't big into relationships. My dad stuck around though. Mom really couldn't handle two kids, so she kept Roger and Dad took me. I would visit though. Summers. The rest of the year I lived over here with Dad." Gemma said with a smile.

"Is she still in England?" Buffy asked.

"Mom died a few years ago. Lost my Dad a few months later. Just me and Roger now. Oh, and Wendy." Gemma said.

"I lost my mom too." Buffy said quietly. She and Gemma shared a look and then promptly changed the subject. They talked about Vampires and techniques, compared stories, both doing a bit of showing off as they dusted three vamps in an alley by the Bronze. Just as they finished the Vampires and rounded the corner they saw two men herding a couple into the alley. Buffy snuck up and Gemma followed a little ways behind. The couple nor the men saw Buffy, even as the couple attempted to bargain with their attackers. Buffy made a joke to get their attention. She kicked one of the men only to find out it wasn't even a Vampire. Even Buffy seemed surprised that it was only a mugging. Gemma leaned against the wall to watch her idol in action. The couple ran past Gemma as Buffy handled the men. She had one men twisted with an arm behind his back and was egging the other on when another man appeared out of no where. It was a flurry of bleach blonde hair, black leather and screams of pain as he tackled the one man into a bunch of crates stacked in the alley. Thrown off by the disturbance the two men got away. Gemma jumped forward just in case Buffy needed help with who or what ever had just appeared.

"What the hell are you doing?" Buffy asked, supremely annoyed with the blonde man standing up from the ground, clutching the side of his head in pain.

"I thought they were demons." he said. Gemma stood there behind Buffy for a while listening to them go back and forth before finally speaking up.

"Uhm, what just happened?" she asked. Her hair had come out after the first fight and was in tangled waves around her pale face. Buffy sighed.

"Gemma, Spike. Spike, Gemma. Slayer number three. Neutered vampire with a chip in his head." Buffy said in curt introduction.

"A third slayer?" Spike asked.

"Neutered vampire?" Gemma asked at the same time. The two stood staring at each other for a moment. Gemma crossed her arms and studied him for a moment. He was good looking enough for one of the undead. Not that she was ever going there. No soul meant no feelings... no love. She wouldn't give her heart to a thing that wouldn't give his back, ever again.

Spike raised a brow as he took in the new slayer. She looked familiar in a strange way, but it was most likely that natural Slayer stance. Cocky, confident, fearless, but underneath it all a sense of desire... and endless wanting. Gemma glanced sideways at Buffy. If the Slayer, well the original Sunnydale Slayer that is, trusted this guy than he couldn't be too bad.

"Nice to meet you." Gemma said, holding out her hand. Spike looked genuinely surprised but shook her hand. The brunette was a little thrown off by how cold he felt.

"You as well." he said, and actually meant it. It was rare someone was so readily accepting of him. Joyce had been one of the last decent people he'd known. Gemma took one glance at the charged looks between the two of them and immediately felt like the invader...yet again.

"You guys probably have stuff to talk about. Buffy, I'm just gonna head home. Spike, I'll see you around, I guess." Gemma said with a little wave. Spike and Buffy murmured goodbyes and then immediately dove back into the back and forth banter. The new slayer killed two more vampires on her way home. She had barely walked in the door when she heard Roger calling her.

"Whatever it is can it wait until after I eat?" Gemma asked as she washed dirt and vampire dust from her hands in the kitchen sink. Roger thrust a power bar into her hands.

"Eat on your way. Wendy's vision came true." Roger said.

"Partially!" Wendy shouted the correction from the living room where she was sitting watching late night news.

"Yes, partially. There was a diamond stolen from the museum. The guard was frozen." Roger said, looking positively thrilled by the mystery of it all.

"Like, paralyzed with fear, frozen?" Gemma asked.

"No. Block of ice, frozen." Wendy said, filling her empty glass with more water.

"Ah." Gemma said. "Well, let's go, I guess." Roger kissed his wife on the cheek before grabbing Gemma's hand and pulling her out to the car.

Gemma ran her fingers through the tangled mess one might call hair as they pulled up to the museum. There was a large crowd gathered out front of the building. Roger stopped the car and the pair got out.

"Can't really see much." Roger noted. "I'll walk this way, you walk that way. See if we can't get a better view of what's going on." he advised. Gemma rubbed her hands together.

"Okie dokie, Rog." she said, smiling before walking to her left. She was preparing to round a corner when she heard voices from the other side of the shrubbery.

"A man can change." came a sexy sounding voice with an English accent.

"You're not a man." Buffy said flatly in response. Gemma's eyes widened as she realized she was eavesdropping on a conversation between Buffy and the Vampire she'd met earlier. Spike. She listened as there were punches thrown and Spike screamed in pain. Peering through the bush she saw him clutching his head and then get knocked to his knees. For a Vampire, he was kind of wimpy. Buffy called him a few more names before storming off. Spike was left kneeling on the ground staring after her. Gemma waited a moment before rounding the corner as if she hadn't been there the whole time. Spike raised an eyebrow when he saw her.

"Hey, you're that girl." he said, standing up. "Gemma, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." she said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "So... frozen security guard. Weird, right?" she asked. Spike sighed.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

"Hear what? I didn't hear..." she trailed off when Spike fixed her with a look that said 'oh cut me a bloody break'. "Alright, I heard a little. But whatever little lover's quarrel that was is none of my business. I'm just a Slayer, not Dr. Phil." she told him.

"You're not like the rest of them." Spike said. Gemma, feeling uncomfortable, pulled out a cigarette and began hunting in the pockets of her jacket for a lighter.

"The rest of who?" she asked. Spike leaned forward and lit her cigarette for her with a silver zippo.

"Well, you haven't tried to kill me once. I think that may be a record for me." he said, lighting a cigarette for himself.

"Yeah, well, Buffy may not seem to like you but she trusts you. Why is that, by the way?" Gemma asked, curious. Spike tapped his forehead.

"I've this chip in my head. Anytime I try to attack a human I get a migraine that damn near cripples me." he told her. Gemma wrinkled her nose. "That sucks." she said. Spike raised an eyebrow.

"You're sure you're a Slayer?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Aren't you supposed to be all about protecting human life?" Spike asked. Gemma felt her shoulders stiffen.

"Some people don't deserve to live, human or not." she said flatly. "I'm gonna go pretend like I know what I'm doing now." Gemma said, tossing her cigarette to the ground and crushing it with the toe of her boot. "See you around, Spike."

"You as well." he said, his mind still reeling from what had happened with Buffy. His chip hadn't gone off. He'd faked it. Maybe the bloody thing had broken, or maybe he'd gotten used to it. Buffy thought the chip had made him soft, made him housebroken, but he was still Spike. He glanced up at Gemma's retreating form. She had beautiful pale skin and long dark hair. It reminded him a little of Drusilla. He could sink his teeth into her without too much of a problem, Slayer or not. He'd taken on Slayers before. Suddenly, as if on cue, Gemma turned back around.

"Hey, for what it's worth, Vampire or not, you're still a man in my book." she said, before giving a little wave and heading back off. Damn it, why did she always let that soft spot in her heart for the bad boy get hold of her. Spike smiled a little. No. He would find another tasty morsel to snack on. Gemma wasn't an option.


End file.
